Letter from the founding members and the board of governors   Dear Sir or Madam, Dear donors, Dear colleagues, Thank you for your interest in the French foundation for research into myeloma and monoclonal gammopathies (FFRMG: Fondation Française pour la Recherche contre le Myélome et les Gammapathies monoclonales).   In addition to the opportunities available, the FFRMG was founded for a number of reasons:

A plasma cell viewed by electron microscopy

• To support research. If we are to extend patients’ life expectancy and improve their quality of life, we have to understand the mechanisms underlying the disease and their consequences. This requires intensifying basic biology research, even though it does not seem immediately « profitable ».

• To train young scientists. Tomorrow’s breakthroughs and progress are dependent on our ability to motivate, stimulate and better train today’s young people. To achieve this, we need to encourage mobility and provide more opportunities for them to work and train in different laboratories, both in France and abroad. This objective is all the more important since research nowadays is inconceivable without the exchange of information and experience or without international collaboration.

• To encourage research into myeloma and all types of gammopathy. This research has made essential contributions to our knowledge of the physiology of the immune system. It has notably elucidated the structure of antibodies and the genes that produce them. It has also played a crucial role in our understanding of the mechanisms that lead to the development of malignant disease, through the concept of clonal disease that has developed from a single cell, and by illustrating the importance of the relationships between an abnormal cell and its environment. Research will provide information of universal value by applying modern strategies for studying cells and their genes to equally complex models.

 

 

These three aspects — basic research, training and mobility of tomorrow’s scientists, the importance of the myeloma and gammopathy « model » — remain the key determinants of FFRMG’s action. FFRMG hopes through this strategy to make a unique contribution to support research that has been compromised by the current economic climate but is essential for the future.

 

Our primary objective is to enable scientists or students to carry out research programmes on myeloma or other gammopathies in host laboratories in France or abroad. It also aims to contribute to and/or promote treatment, advocacy and the well-being of patients with these diseases.

 

Of course, the underlying objective is to improve the survival and quality of life of patients. We must therefore remain responsive to potential applications of the findings of basic research. Of course, this requires promoting treatment, better follow-up and the well-being of patients with these diseases.

 

Thank you again for your interest in FFRMG. We are grateful to everyone who has enabled FFRMG to exist and would like to thank everyone who enables it to continue in the future.

 

The founding members and the entire board of the FFRMG.